Chapter 068

“He seems to be really interested in Joy. He usually isn’t interested in people…”

I’m not sure what the standard for interest is, but it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the only person the child has shown interest in besides me is almost no one.

From the current reaction, it seemed that the child might even be more interested in Joy than I was.

“What’s up with you? Do you want to go with me?”

Joy directed the question at Aires, who was holding onto his clothing.

The child didn’t show any particular reaction but instead answered by gripping Joy’s sleeve tightly enough to create wrinkles.

Seeing that, I opened my mouth with a somewhat troubled expression.

“Aires, Joy doesn’t live here. Plus, Joy is a very busy person, so you’ll be alone much more often.”

If this continued, it seemed like the child was determined to follow Joy, so I spoke at the child’s eye level.

But the child was stubborn.

Now, he was holding onto Joy’s sleeve so tightly that it looked like he was going to bury his face in Joy’s arm, and I let out a helpless sigh.

At that moment, Joy, who had been observing the child intently, suddenly spoke in a low voice as if he was deep in thought.

“Hmmm… Customer. If he’s okay with it, I’ll take care of him.”

For a moment, I couldn’t believe those words came from Joy, and my eyes widened in surprise.

Wasn’t he someone who preferred to be alone more than anyone else?

Moreover, wasn’t he someone who was extremely reluctant to expose himself, spending time with someone else?

Even if that someone was a child, recalling the Joy I had seen until now, it was a combination that I couldn’t imagine at all.

“Well…”

“The child wants this! Look! It’s not me who’s saying let’s go together; it’s him who’s holding onto me.”

As I hesitated and trailed off, Joy gestured with his chin toward his left hand.

As I lowered my gaze, I saw the child’s hand tightly gripping Joy’s finger.

Seeing that, I couldn’t say no and ended up nodding in agreement.

‘He didn’t show any interest even when the servants gave him toys. What does he like about Joy?’

The child seemed to realize that he could spend time with Joy, and his eyes sparkled with excitement.

“Then please take good care of him until his mom wakes up. If he needs anything like food or supplies, just let me know right away.”

“Okay, okay. Then I’ll really go now! Little one! Let’s go!”

Joy then took the child’s hand and completely left the office.

“Will it be okay…?”

I muttered softly while looking at the closed door.

I figured it wouldn’t be a big worry since the child’s mom would wake up within a few days anyway.

☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓

“Oh, I ended up with a lot of time left.”

Finishing my work earlier than expected, I rubbed my stiff shoulders and approached the window.

“I had so much to talk about with Joy.”

Who would have thought he would just take the child and leave like that?

There were many topics to discuss beyond work, and I felt a bit disappointed.

If Joy had heard, he would have probably smirked and said I was right.

“Well, it’s not too late to talk later.”

With that brief mutter, I left the office, humming a cheerful tune.

My footsteps led me to the training ground, where the scorching sunlight was shining down.

As I got closer to the training ground, the loud shouts of the knights grew increasingly louder.

Finally arriving at the training ground, I was met with a familiar sight that I had seen before.

“Ready, fire!”

At the shout of one knight, the knights holding bows all drew their strings toward a single target.

As I witnessed countless arrows flying through the air, my body instinctively flinched, but I was no longer surprised like before.

Thud.

The arrows, all aimed in one direction, were abruptly split in two by a single person and fell helplessly to the ground.

‘It’s truly impressive every time I see it.’

It was a training method that left me in awe.

I gazed blankly at Evan’s face, who was executing extreme training without a hint of expression, something ordinary knights wouldn’t even dare to attempt.

“Charge!”

“Whoa!”

Just as I felt relieved that all the arrows had fallen to the ground, ten knights wielding swords rushed toward Evan.

Evan adjusted his grip on his sword, examining the knights charging rapidly toward him with an indifferent gaze.

“Get it right! If you don’t do it properly, don’t think today’s training will end!”

Evan’s voice, filled with frustration as he watched the knights collapse helplessly, echoed loudly across the training ground.

‘At times like this, he really does seem to have a bad temperament.’

Watching Evan move effortlessly through the training ground with his sword, I began to understand why such fearsome nicknames had been given to him.

At that moment, Evan’s fierce gaze, which had been fiercely dealing with the knights, caught mine.

In an instant, his harsh expression softened.

“It’s not human speed, you know. When will I ever be able to become like the Duke? Maybe in about ten years?”

“That’s a big dream. If you can last ten seconds in ten years, you’ll be lucky.”

As I was lost in watching him, a heartfelt voice nearby made me turn my head.

The knights waiting nearby were chattering excitedly, their eyes sparkling as they fixed their gaze on Evan.

They had youthful faces that clearly showed they had just come of age.

They were probably not official knights yet but rather newly inducted apprentice knights.

“This kid? Despite appearances, he was praised by the Duke for his good posture during the last training session.”

“Hmph. So impressive, huh…?”

As I quietly chuckled at their cheerful demeanor, it happened.

“What, what’s going on? Did we do something wrong?”

“Gah! Is he mad because we weren’t paying attention during training and were chatting? What should we do?”

The knights suddenly turned pale and trembled.

Following their gaze, I turned my head to see Evan charging toward us at high speed.

As Evan arrived right in front of me and opened his mouth to say something, they exclaimed, “I’m sorry…! I will make sure to focus on training from now on! I really will!”

“What’s this?”

Evan looked at the young knights, who were bowing so low that their heads nearly touched the ground, with a puzzled expression.

“Stop with the nonsense and go train over there.”

“Yes!”

As soon as Evan finished speaking, the young knights dashed away toward where the other knights were gathered.

After watching them disappear, Evan turned to me and made eye contact.

“You’re here again?”

That was the first thing Evan said as he quickly scanned the area around me.

His expression, furrowing his brows as if something displeased him, made him seem quite ill-tempered.

If anyone else had heard him, they would have likely left the scene immediately out of embarrassment.

“I find watching the training interesting.”

“What’s so interesting about that? Why are you standing here watching in this heat?”

At my words, Evan’s already crumpled expression hardened even more.

In the past, I would have felt awkward and turned away at his cold reaction, but not this time.

I had a faint idea of what kind of behavior he might display.

“What have you brought this time? It’s hot, and carrying that load is making you sweat, isn’t it?”

He snatched the basket I was holding and led me toward the shade under a tree while continuing to speak.

“I told you to have the nearby knights on standby because unexpected incidents can happen during training, didn’t I?”

As Evan spoke without pause, he took something out of the basket and handed it to me.

It was a towel I had prepared for him while he was training.

“I brought this for you to use.”

“I’ll just accept your kind intention, so please use it first.”

When I resisted taking the towel until the end, Evan snorted as if he found it amusing and wrapped the towel around my head, tying it under my chin.

His movements were so quick that I realized a moment too late what I looked like.